June 2007

Edible

The best time to cut herbs for drying is just before they flower. Cut herbs in mid-morning when the leaves are dry, but before the hot midday sun

To air dry herbs, follow the following simple steps:

1. Use a sharp knife or scissors to cut large stems or branches from mature plants. Gently shake each branch to remove insects. Examine each branch and remove old, damaged or diseased leaves.
2. Rinse each branch in cold water and dry with towels or paper towels to remove all visible water. Wet herbs tend to mold, which destroys the whole bunch.
3. Turn branches upside down and remove leaves along the upper stem. Lower leaves are not as pungent as the top leaves nearest buds. Tie five or six stems together in a small bunch. For high moisture herbs, use smaller bunches.
4. Place the bunch upside down in a large brown paper bag. Gather the bag around the stems and tie. Tear or cut several holes in the bag for ventilation. Make sure there is plenty of room inside the bag so leaves do not touch the sides of the bag. Write the name and date on each bag.
5. Hang the bag in a warm, airy room or attic. Leave undisturbed for about two weeks or longer.
6. When the leaves are dry, check for any signs of mold growth. Toss the entire bunch if moldy and try again. Strip dried leaves from stems and discard stems. Crush the leaves if desired, but keep in mind that whole herbs retain their flavor longer than crushed, ground or rubbed herbs.
7. Store dried herbs in small airtight containers away from the light. Label and date each container. For best results use within a year.

For a Harvesting Herbs fact sheet call 773-233-0476.

Watch for blossom end rot on tomatoes. It starts as a water-soaked spot on the bottom of the tomato. It will turn black. Blossom end rot often appears when first fruit are ripening. It is not a disease, but a physiological disorder, which is caused by a calcium deficiency in the plant caused by wide fluctuations in soil moisture. Peppers and eggplant can also be affected. Remove the affected fruits, maintain even soil moisture (one inch per week) and use mulches to help reduce the problem.

It is strawberry picking time. For a listing of local strawberry farms, call 773-233-0476 or check out our web site, Strawberries and More at www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/strawberries.

Ornamental

Watch for the emerald ash borer. The adult borer is a ½ inch long emerald green bullet-shaped beetle. In June and July look for the beetle on leaves and trunks of ash trees. Female beetles will lay eggs. The eggs will hatch in two weeks and larvae will bore through the bark into the cambium. The larvae will feed for a few weeks and disable the trees ability to uptake food and water. Initial symptoms will include dieback at the top of the tree. The tree will usually die within two years. For an EAB fact sheet call 773-233-0476 or go to the Cook County Extension web site, Emerald Ash Borer Central at http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/cook/.

Pinch back Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ and chrysanthemums now to avoid floppy plants in the fall. Cut back sedums that grow in shade or have flopped over in the past under the weight of its flowers. Cut the shoots back by half to get a more upright plant. The flowers will be smaller, but more numerous. This technique will reduce the need for staking. Pinch back chrysanthemums by half when shoots are 8 inches long. When the shoots grow back to 8 inches long, pinch back by half again. The last pinch should occur no later then July 15.

Apply a 2-4 inch layer of organic mulch around trees and shrubs. Mulch the area under the tree to its drip line. The drip line is the circle that could be drawn on the soil around a tree directly under the tips of its outermost branches. Keep the mulch 4-6 inches away from the base of the tree or shrub to prevent rot. Organic mulches will reduce weeds and conserve moisture. As the mulch decomposes it can be dug into the soil, thereby adding nutrients to the soil and improving soil structure.

Enjoy the emerging cicadas. The male cicadas will be singing to attract females for the next couple of weeks. They will mate and the male cicadas will die. The females will lay eggs and the eggs will hatch in 6 to 10 weeks. The white nymphs will drop to the ground and burrow into the soil and feed on the sap of roots for 17 years to emerge again in 2024. For more information, check out the Cook County Extension web site, Chicago Cicada Central at http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/cook/.